Hours of SWAT team negotiations end in arrest

A man was arrested early Saturday morning in East Anchorage after five or six hours of negotiating with a SWAT team, the Anchorage Police Department said in a news brief.

Police took 29-year-old Jedediah Smith into custody after receiving information that he was in a trailer home on Muldoon Road off Halligan Drive.

"SWAT responded to make the arrest because Smith is known to be armed, has an assaultive history, and has previously threatened to kill police officers," a police statement said.

Smith "surrendered and was taken into custody" after negotiations, police said, adding that he was not injured.

"He was on probation/parole and violated that probation which is connected to multiple previous felony crimes," APD spokeswoman Renee Oistad said in an email. Smith was arrested on a warrant for that violation, she said.

Police also originally charged Smith with resisting but that charge was later dropped by prosecutors, Oistad said via email Saturday afternoon. He is still in jail for the probation/parole violation, she said.

Four trailers nearby were evacuated during the SWAT response, police said. APD had sent two news alerts between midnight and 3 a.m. Saturday advising people in the area to expect loud noise and police vehicles.

A woman who was in the trailer with Smith at the time was not charged with a crime, police said.

Correction: This story originally stated that Smith had multiple felony warrants. That information from an APD news brief was incorrect.